Revealed: Senegalese school bus driver who hijacked vehicle in Italy as a protest over migrant drownings was a known paedophile and posted video saying 'Africa – arise' before his attack

      Ousseynou Sy ordered the children to be tied up and said 'no-one would survive'  

      He told authorities he wanted to vindicate migrants who died crossing to Europe

      The children escaped with no serious injuries after police forced their way inside

By Tim Stickings and Chiara Fiorillo For Mailonline and Ap and Afp

Published: 12:27 GMT, 21 March 2019 | Updated: 13:57 GMT, 21 March 2019

A man who hijacked a school bus in Italy and set it alight was a known paedophile who had posted a video on YouTube saying 'Africa - arise', it has emerged. 

Ousseynou Sy abducted 51 children, told them 'no one would survive' and set the bus on fire after they escaped in a 40-minute ordeal near Milan yesterday.  

The 47-year-old driver, of Senegalese origin, told authorities he wanted to vindicate Europe-bound migrants who have died in the Mediterranean. 

Italy's interior ministry said in a statement that the driver had been previously caught driving while drunk and had sexually assaulted a minor. 

Claiming he had 'lost three children at sea', Sy had said he 'wanted the whole world talking about his story', police revealed. 

He posted a video on Youtube to explain his actions and say 'Africa - arise', directed at family and friends in Crema but also in Senegal. 

The driver was said to have planned the hijack over several days, making preparations such as buying a canister of gasoline and restraints on Tuesday. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6834559/Pictured-Senegalese-man-torched-Italian-school-bus.html